


Darling Starlight

by jakeparking



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: M/M, soft and sweet, we love dads
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:00:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22812712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jakeparking/pseuds/jakeparking
Summary: A collection of moments between the fresh new dads of Final Fantasy XIV. Drabble prompts
Relationships: Urianger Augurelt/Thancred Waters
Comments: 4
Kudos: 88





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Mostly unbeta’d, this is also me screeching over how good these two can be together. Prithee enjoy

After a few years under the harsh brightness of a sky torn asunder with Light aether, nothing felt quite like waking up to the normal morning light. Everything felt warm- safe. Urianger had cracked open one golden eye, blinking past the sleep until his vision adjusted. 

He heard the constant beating of a heart pressed to his ear. In his groggy state, it had taken him multiple long moments to truly identify what was going on- his pillow was not made of feathers but of flesh, rising and falling to the breath of another.

The elezen had shifted up, rubbing his eye as he glanced toward his sleeping companion- he wasn’t surprised to see the restful face of Thancred. His arms were wrapped loosely around Urianger’s shoulders, which kept the elezen from moving too much. Not that Urianger had wanted to, really- the comfort of his beloved’s embrace was something he had truly cherished.

He had never believed himself worthy of such luxuries before. As a young boy, Urianger had avoided all forms of this contact. It was just unnecessary to him- the comfort of tomes were infinitely better than the touch of another. He had never understood Thancred before- constantly fluttering about from one person to the next, always touching. That was how the scrappy boy he had grown with had just been.

Then, he became an adult. Any thought of being with another was silenced by the mounds of work that had to be done- research and primal reports- scion business he had no right in shirking. Not that he had seen many who could have looked past his odd style of dress. Moenbryda was one of the few. The only woman in the world who would playfully flirt with Urianger and genuinely mean it. Yet still, he squandered his chances- acted aloof when his heart told him to run to her arms as he wanted. 

Losing her was the greatest tragedy. It was sudden how all of his regrets came swarming in- how he should have given more, told her how he felt... but then she was gone, and there was a hole where she had been. The only way he could deal with the grief was hiding amongst his tomes and drinking until he blacked out. No one noticed- no one but Thancred. 

The hyur shifted in his sleep, drawing Urianger closer with a soft sigh. 

His business with the scions only got worse then. He had constantly betrayed his friends, gone to walk among shades so that his friends could shine brighter. His list of sins grew, and as such he viewed the loss of Moenbryda to be a punishment. The elezen only did what he believed he had to, but it was never easy keeping his secrets.

And gods... here he was now. Mere months ago he was fighting to free a shard from certain annihilation, harboring yet another huge secret, and what did he find? A gorgeous home amongst the land of the fae- and Thancred. The hyur came to him many times during his travels, and sought out shelter and protection with his young ward. Things Urianger was more than happy to give. As both a blessing and a curse, the gods have granted him succor from that hole in his heart- they began to fill it with the hyur beside him.

Every moment beside him stole his breath- the roguish boy he had grown used to had matured into a man Urianger could see himself fawning over. The hyur’s charm over others had made sense in those moments, when he watched him rush to protect those he cared for. The elezen was falling for him more and more as time passed.

Then he found him in Amh Araeng, bleeding out and battered from fighting Ran’jit. That day, he had figured this was yet another punishment- harboring the secret had earned him yet another loss. 

But damned the gods and all they stood for. The Twelve would not take him if Urianger had any say. He spent so much energy that day, begging and pleading for him to return, healing every wound he could find and then some. Hearing Thancred gasp for breath had never been more relieving, and he had spent forever afterwards just cradling his head on his lap, running fingers through sweat soaked hair to soothe the ragged groans from Thancred.

Now they were here. The Empty needed time before they could do more to it, and the others were fine without them for a while- they could spend mornings like this, with Urianger’s head on Thancred’s chest and sleeping until noon. Their limbs tangled so tight that it was hard to tell where one began and the other ended, sheets warm and tight around them- He was lucky to be here in this moment.

A moment that was startled by a finger curling under his chin, tilting his head up so that Thancred could press their lips together softly. The elezen hummed into the kiss, dragging one hand up from the hyur’s chest to tangle in his hair. Once they broke free, Thancred chuckled.

“Coin for your thoughts?” Thancred’s voice was gruff from sleep, and there was something so heavily endearing in it. Urianger couldn’t stop himself from grinning.

“Naught else besides how much I love thee.” That had caught the hyur by surprise. His look of awe slowly changed back to his tired grin as he placed another peck on Urianger’s lips.

“And I love you.”

There was much to be done. Breakfast to be made, baths to be drawn, patrols to take- but it would all wait. Nothing was more important now than just basking in the morning, safe and comfortable.


	2. Blood on the Sands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Urianger found Thancred after his fight with Ran’jit.

“One last time, with a little help, I’m so proud to have been a part of your life.”

So, this was how his story ended. Words only he could hear whispered to the winds, lost to time- many only remembering the bitter and closed off parts of him. And Minfillia... his young charge... gods, how he only wished he could have said his last goodbyes to her.

“ I will not have you waste that newfound resolve on me!” 

The Warrior of Light would take good care of her, he thinks. Minfillia would no longer be plagued with his wrong doings. If his sacrifice was what was needed to shift things back into balance, then so be it. He would gladly give his life for the cause. Someday, though, he hoped the others would look back and see the young man he was, vibrant and full of life. It would be a shame to be remembered this way.

He could feel himself slipping, covering his eyes from the blinding Light above. Despite how bright it was, the sands felt cold beneath him. Slowly but surely, he was growing numb. 

He hoped he created enough time. He hoped his dear friend could finally finish off that damned Ran’jit. He hoped the others could save this world and their own. So many wishes for his friends, his family- and Minfillia. He should have been better for her.

Was that... feet on the sand? It felt hard to focus- might be the rapid blood loss. The darkness was pulling him deeper, his breathing slowing. Those disappearing acts had truly done a number on him, and he was fading fast.

Warmth blossomed from his chest, and Thancred had wanted to reach for it. No matter how he had tried, his fingers wouldn’t respond. He could only lay there and accept whatever had been going on. Then there was a touch- barely felt in Thancred’s dulling senses, but it was there. Placed directly over his heart. Even he could feel it weakening.

_ No use... just go.  _ He wanted so badly to speak, to let whoever had been healing him know that their efforts were in vain. The physical wounds were awful, not to mention the one he had caused to his own aether. It would take nothing short of a miracle to bring him to his feet again. And yet that warmth persisted, and even increased in it’s intensity. 

_No_.  Thancred could feel himself shying away from that healing light. This was his penance, his repayment for years of failures. He’d let down so many people- consider him a coward, but he could not fail any more. He fell away from it, further swallowed in the darkness around him. He could swear he almost could see shards- crystals flying across an expanse of pure black space. 

But that light only grew more intense, gripping him and yanking as hard as it could back towards the mortal coil. His senses were returning-  gods no.  There was more than one healing set of hands on him this time. And-

And his head was blanketed by silken skirts. Fuck,  Urianger.  He had come back, as promised, with the help they needed. And now was cradling Thancred’s head on his lap, expending so much energy that the gunbreaker had not felt worthy of. If only he could speak, to tell the elezen to knock it off-

To tell him how long he had loved him. It hardly would be fair, considering how Urianger had most likely still had feelings for Moenbryda. He could never hope to be her, but in his final moments, he would wish his heart known. Since they were but teens, even, Thancred had ached for a love he knew could never be. Yet maybe he could pretend.

_ My darling Urianger.  _ His voice wouldn’t carry. His words naught more than thoughts, but they needed to be remembered.  _ I wish I could have built the courage sooner- to tell you I- _

“I beg thee,” Urianger’s voice, echoing and distant in the dreary dark, “give him back to me.” His voice had shook with worry, and Thancred had felt a tear drop onto his skin.

That was the final push. Like emerging from a dense sea, Thancred gasped for breath. It felt like a shock had coursed through him, dragging him back from the brink. Thancred could feel his heart hammer beneath his ribcage. He had been so close to the end-

He could only manage a weak smile, barely able to lift his arm to wipe away a stray tear from Urianger’s cheek. “Okay, okay, I’m up.” The gunbreaker croaked, still too numb to move much more than he already had. Y’shtola and Alphinaud had moved away to give him space after his brutal awakening, but Urianger was not so easily moved.

_ I wish I was brave enough. To tell you I love you. _


End file.
